The average Brazilian reads 1.4 books a year, which is my Critica, my publisher here, brings me to a communal library in a favela, 2 hours away from Paulista. The audience is amazing, including baby, and one dog. The questions about the relation of race and drugs policies put me out of my usual comfort zone. This is what I like about Brazil, and especially about Sao Paulo.

This is the Brazilian title of the book, and even if not everyone gets the joke here, due to language problems, it certainly is eye-catching in the big shops in Rio, and Sao Paulo, where competition for space is fierce.

Where does Hitler's tremor come from? From Parkinson's as some historians have claimed? Or from drug withdrawal as it is suggested in "Blitzed"?

The Journal of Clinical Neurology might have the answer: "Drug-induced Parkinsonism".

"Drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) is the second-most-common etiology of parkinsonism in the elderly after Parkinson's disease (PD). Many patients with DIP may be misdiagnosed with PD because the clinical features of these two conditions are indistinguishable. Moreover, neurological deficits in patients with DIP may be severe enough to affect daily activities and may persist for long periods of time after the cessation of drug taking. In addition to typical antipsychotics, DIP may be caused by gastrointestinal prokinetics, calcium channel blockers, atypical antipsychotics, and antiepileptic drugs. The clinical manifestations of DIP are classically described as bilateral and symmetric parkinsonism without tremor at rest. However, about half of DIP patients show asymmetrical parkinsonism and tremor at rest, making it difficult to differentiate DIP from PD. The pathophysiology of DIP is related to drug-induced changes in the basal ganglia motor circuit secondary to dopaminergic receptor blockade."

Very happy and proud that Espen Ingebrigtsen (in the center here) received the Norwegian translation price for his excellent work on "Hitlers Rus". After meeting Espen in his hometown Bergen, it took less than 2 minutes to comprehend that my book was in the best possible hands.

I hope I can work with you again, Espen. It would be an honor. Congrats!

BLITZED is highlighted in next week’s (June 18 issue) NYT Book Review! Joseph Kanon, a New York Times-bestselling author of historical fiction, writes that this historical account of methamphetamine use in the Third Reich is the most interesting thing he’s learned from a book recently.

Speaking at the Sydney Writers Festival this morning about ... drugs. Love the appreciative Ozzie audience - then quickly back to the hotel in order to work on new project, using the writing suit "Isolator" that the Writers Festival provides free of charge. Not only does it reduce noise from the Sydney Harbour (loud honking cruise ships) but also keeps away unpleasant smells from exhaust pipes of said ships, being therefore quite practical. And in order to survive in its perfectly protected space, the thing is even connected via tube with an oxygen-flask ! Thank you, Australia.